An overview of the contracts signed at the club so far this summer
Seamus Coleman signed a new deal with Everton that will take him into the first season at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images
Seamus Coleman signed a new deal with Everton that will take him into the first season at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images
Everton may have work to do in the transfer window ahead of the historic first season at the Hill Dickinson Stadium but it has still been a busy summer behind the scenes.
Nineteen players and staff have now signed new contracts with the Blues since the win at Newcastle United ended last season on a high - the first among them being goalscoring hero at St James’ Park, Carlos Alcaraz, as his loan from Flamengo was made permanent in May.
There have been some high-profile deals for first team players but work at Finch Farm has also focused on tying down some of the club’s prospects. Here, the ECHO takes a look at who has signed what, so far.
The most significant agreement to have been reached is perhaps that for Jarrad Branthwaite. Unlike some of his teammates, the 23-year-old was not out-of-contract when talks opened this summer but dealing with his future was deemed a necessity.
There was a jarring contrast between the message of the club - that he was too valuable to sell - and the contract he had signed just after breaking into the first team. Everyone understood it needed to be addressed and the speed with which it was resolved represented an early win for Everton’s new-look leadership team.
Branthwaite was the first of a series of senior players to commit his future to the club, with Seamus Coleman next. There was little intrigue over the 36-year-old’s future - David Moyes had telegraphed his desire to keep the club captain in his dressing room and, when Coleman left the pitch against Southampton, there was no sign of the emotion that would have been a giveaway had there been a chance it would be his last game for the club. The one year extension eventually came last month.
Two deals that offered a little more jeopardy were those for Michael Keane and Idrissa Gueye. Both players technically ended up leaving the club when their old contracts expired at the end of June. With Gueye, there was an expectation he would be part of the first season on the waterfront for some time but it took until this week for that to be confirmed amid deliberations over the length of the fresh terms.
Keane was not immediately offered a new contract and both player and club explored alternative routes before reuniting for talks as June rumbled on. Keane, like Gueye and Coleman, agreed an extension of an initial 12 months.
Work in the academy has continued throughout the summer too. Eli Campbell, who enjoyed minutes in the first team in pre-season last summer before heading on loan to Ross County, was first to sign a new contract. The 20-year-old, who has England youth experience, put pen to paper on a two-year deal.
Everton are hoping the talent in the club’s Under-18s will rise through to the Under-21s and have tied down several players to their first professional deals. Luca Davis, Aled Thomas, Harvey Foster and Ceiran Loney have each committed to the Finch Farm project in recent weeks. Davis, Thomas and Foster joined Everton at early ages while Loney was signed from Partick Thistle as part of the recruitment drive that also brought Braiden Graham and Justin Clarke to the club last summer.
On Tuesday, it was announced that teenage winger Coby Ebere had become the latest to sign a two-year contract. The 19-year-old overcame a hamstring injury to grow into Paul Tait’s U21s last season and is now hoping to continue his development.
The work at Everton Women has been tireless too. Ahead of a landmark season at Goodison Park, investment has gone into the team and the backroom staff. The Friedkin Group quickly sanctioned new deals for the leadership team with manager Brian Sorensen and assistant Stephen Neligan being backed to lead the side into a new era.
Aurora Galli and Lucy Hope have both signed one-year extensions while France international Kelly Gago - the first signing of TFG's reign - committed to a three year deal after impressing following her arrival in January. That team has since been complemented with the additions of Japan international centre-back Rion Ishikawa, Spain Under-23s winger Ornella Vignola and Netherlands Under-23 midfielder Rosa van Gool.